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Ragnarok S1 and 2 (Review
Jun. 4th, 2021 06:54 pmA Norwegian-language series, consisting of two seasons so far, produced by a Danish company, with Adam Price (creator of Borgen) as executive producer, up at Netflix. I'm tempted to nickname it Norse Mythology: The High School AU.
I liked the first season better than the second; each consists of six episodes, is set in the fictional Norwegian town of Edda, in the current day (minus global pandemic). One of the reasons why I prefer the first season is that a) it found some clever current day equivalents of the Norse myth tropes, and b) it actually went back to the mythology, not the Marvel version (with one big exception, about which more in the moment). The second season, otoh, leaned too much into the family soap opera at the expense of the themes and Marvel-ized one of the characters, at least imo, but it was stll entertainingly done.
Basic premise: teenage Magne, his brother Laurits and their mother Turid move back to the town of Edda, which they left when the kids were still very young. Magne has a chance encounter with a mysterious one-eyed man and a magical old lady right at the start and before you can say "Thor" starts to display increased physical strength and an affinity to the weather. He's also dyslexic and socially awkward, which isn't cured by said new powers, and this particular update on Thor is one of the clever things the series does - Magne isn't stupid, but he has a genuine problem (which he's learned to work with, not least due to modern technology, but it won't go away), and sometimes it puts him at a severe disadvantage.
The town is inofficially ruled by the Jutuls, the fifth richest family in Norway, whose factories and corruption directly contribute to the climate change and industrial pollution (not just) Edda is suffering from, but against which no one is willing to do anything, since most of the local jobs are depending on the the Jutuls, who are, of course, in reality four Jötner (giants) posing as a family. Again, this update on the Thor vs Giants conflict and on the Giants in general was something I found really smart - this way, their willingness to bring about the end of the world - the Ragnarök of the title - not only is deeply relevant but doesn't need big artificial MacGuffins. (It also hails from no deeper motives that greed and selfishness enhanced by immortality, i.e. very human traits, except for the immortality, hardly unique to Giants. There isn't a big plot to destroy the world. They just don't care that they'll do it, considering they themselves will survive.)
On the downside, even in s1: ( spoiler to follow )
Back again to the good points: ( spoiler cut just in case )
I have mixed emotions about: ( Spoilers )
Lastly: this series being actually filmed in Norway, the landscape is gorgeous and at the same time shows the increasing damage.
All in all: willl probably watch further if there's a third season, but also won't be heartbroken if there is not.
I liked the first season better than the second; each consists of six episodes, is set in the fictional Norwegian town of Edda, in the current day (minus global pandemic). One of the reasons why I prefer the first season is that a) it found some clever current day equivalents of the Norse myth tropes, and b) it actually went back to the mythology, not the Marvel version (with one big exception, about which more in the moment). The second season, otoh, leaned too much into the family soap opera at the expense of the themes and Marvel-ized one of the characters, at least imo, but it was stll entertainingly done.
Basic premise: teenage Magne, his brother Laurits and their mother Turid move back to the town of Edda, which they left when the kids were still very young. Magne has a chance encounter with a mysterious one-eyed man and a magical old lady right at the start and before you can say "Thor" starts to display increased physical strength and an affinity to the weather. He's also dyslexic and socially awkward, which isn't cured by said new powers, and this particular update on Thor is one of the clever things the series does - Magne isn't stupid, but he has a genuine problem (which he's learned to work with, not least due to modern technology, but it won't go away), and sometimes it puts him at a severe disadvantage.
The town is inofficially ruled by the Jutuls, the fifth richest family in Norway, whose factories and corruption directly contribute to the climate change and industrial pollution (not just) Edda is suffering from, but against which no one is willing to do anything, since most of the local jobs are depending on the the Jutuls, who are, of course, in reality four Jötner (giants) posing as a family. Again, this update on the Thor vs Giants conflict and on the Giants in general was something I found really smart - this way, their willingness to bring about the end of the world - the Ragnarök of the title - not only is deeply relevant but doesn't need big artificial MacGuffins. (It also hails from no deeper motives that greed and selfishness enhanced by immortality, i.e. very human traits, except for the immortality, hardly unique to Giants. There isn't a big plot to destroy the world. They just don't care that they'll do it, considering they themselves will survive.)
On the downside, even in s1: ( spoiler to follow )
Back again to the good points: ( spoiler cut just in case )
I have mixed emotions about: ( Spoilers )
Lastly: this series being actually filmed in Norway, the landscape is gorgeous and at the same time shows the increasing damage.
All in all: willl probably watch further if there's a third season, but also won't be heartbroken if there is not.
